Pressing pad



C. E. GALVIN Get. 8, 1935.

PRES SING PAD Filed NOV. 22, 1954 Patented Oct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRESSING PAD Application November 22, 1934, Serial No. 754,276

10 Claims.

This invention pertains to garment pressing machines and more particularly to pressing pads therefor of fibrous material of which the preferred form is metallic wool.

5 Metallic wool has been long used as padding material for pressing machines for which it is well adaptedbecause of its elasticity, non-moisture absorbent qualities and resistance to deterior-v atioh under influence of heat and moisture. Fl-

10. @0115 Padding as ordinarily used is subject to the disadvantage of displacement or skidding under pressure whereby the pads will become thin in places and afford uneven tension. This is particularly true of contoured or shaped pads of other 15 than fiat form. Various arrangements of stay wires and reinforcement stitching have been utilized with only mediocre success.

In the present invention there is contemplated a foundation form for a shaped or contoured pad 0. which while capable of being bent into the de sired configuration will be sufficiently rigid to retain its form under conditions of use and afford a supporting skeleton frame for a body of metallic wool or other fibrous material portions of which 5. are matted or intertangled with each other" through the interstices of the skeleton frame and about component parts thereof in suchmanner as to be anchored-thereto against shifting motion or skidding. S1 The object of the invention is to improve the construction as well as the function of. pressing pads whereby they will not only be economical in manufacture, but will be more efficient in use, capable .of being .contoured and shaped into agreement with'the article or portion thereof to be pressed, adapted to retain their contoured forms under various conditions of use, and unlikely to get out of repair.

A further object of the inventicn is to provide 459, a skeleton frame for a pressing pad and to apply f brous padding material thereto in such manner asto hold the padding material against displace-- ment. V

A furt; er object of the invention is to provide aform retaining reinforcement for a pressing pad which may be shaped to desired curvature and which will then maintain the prescribed shape of the'pad.

7 5p A further-object of'the invention is to provide '7 a metallic wool pad wherein the wool is securely anchored against skidding. I 1 A further object of the invention is the provision of a reinforced contoured metallic wool pad. A further object of theinvention is to provide an improved method of embedding a reinforcement structure within a metallic wool body.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a metallic wool or other fibrous pad possessing the desirable characteristics and meritor- 1;,

ions features herein mentioned,

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view, as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention consists of the fea-. tures of construction, the parts. and combinations 10 thereof, and the mode of operation, or their equivalents, as hereinafter described and set forth in the claims. I

the drawing wherein is shown the preferred but obviously not the only form of embodiment 15 of the invention, Fig, l is a perspective view of a pressing pad embodying the present'invention, of which a portion of the padding material has been removed todisclose the embedded skeleton supporting frame. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the 29 form retaining frame before application of the metallic wool. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view. Fig. 4 illustrates a modification and Fig. 5 illustrates the general type of, pressing machine in which these pads are ordinarily employed. 25

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views.

In pressing garments it is quite desirable that the pads employed be contoured to agree with the portion of the garment to be pressed and 39,

special forms of pads are provided for different purposes such as collar pads cuff pads, yoke pads, shoulder pads and others. For present illustrative purposes a very simple form of contoured pad has been adopted without intent or purpose 3 5 of limiting the invention. 'It is to be understood that the invention is applicable to pressing and other pads of various shapes and sizes other than that herein shown and described. While it has been the practice to apply fine mesh screen so exteriorly to one or both sides of a body of metallic wool for confining it and to pass individual stay wires in various directions through the body of a pad, such expedients while perhaps satisfactory for some conditions of use of flat press- 45,

ing pads-are not effective for contoured pads for which the present invention is especially adapted.

It has also been found in practice that it is not sufficient to merely bend a normally fiat body of padding material into the desired shape asrthe 5'9, curvature of the body causes the material at one side to be tensioned and stretched and that at the opposite side to "be relaxed and compressed and therefore the-pad is not uniformly resilient norresponsive to pressure. To afford uniform 5 5 inner and outer sides.

In the drawing wherein is illustrated a simple arch shaped or inverted V shaped pad, the form retaining skeleton structure comprises an endless marginal frame I attached to which at their ends are transverse members 2--2 dividing the interior of the frame into multiple spaces 33 If the pad is of relatively small size as shown in the drawing, such transverse dividing members 2-2 may be extended in one direction only. However for larger pads additional dividing members 2 may be arranged in transverse direction thereby subdividing the spaces 33. Such increased number of transverse supporting members 2 in pads of larger size are preferably, although not necessarily arranged diagonally. The grid-like or reticulated supporting structure thus formed is bent and shaped into approximately the desired contour of the pad. By thus preforming the form retaining skeleton, which although capable of being bent into desired shape is sufficiently rigid to resist ordinary usage pressures,

. the fibrous padding material is uniformly distributed on opposite sides under uniform tension.

Portions of the padding material 4 are applied to each side of the contoured supporting structure under uniform tension and component portions thereof are extended through the openings 3 and are caused to become inter-matted and intertangled with each other thus uniting the portions at opposite sides of the supporting structure into a single integral fibrous body.

While metallic wool is the preferred material, due to its heat and moisture resistant character, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to metallic wool but the padding may comprise other non-metallic fibrous material. Likewise, While especially desirable for surface contoured pad forms, the preformed grid frame on opposite sides of which the fibrous material is applied may be advantageously utilized for flat pressing and other pads which are deemed to be within the scope of the invention. Also, although metallic wool is the preferred padding material, other non-metallic fibrous material may be employed in lieu thereof.

Suitable binding 5 is preferably applied about the margins of the contoured pad. This binding may be of fabric, preferably asbestos, although it may be of other material.

For certain conditions of use it is desirable, although not essential, that the tie member 2 at the crown or top of the bent pad should be of flexible or yielding character. To this end there 7 is shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of relatively small flexible wires 6 extending between the opposite sides of the marginal frame I in lieu of amore rigid transverse member 2.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a typical pressing machine for pressing collars or yokes of garments,

and cuffs. Pads such as heretofore described are positioned upon the platens I and 8. 7

From the above description it will be apparen that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the 5 principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to 10 'be'understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

Havingthus described my inventio-n,I claim:

1. In, a pressing pad or the like, a grid like form retaining skeleton structure including a marginal endless frame and transverse members fixedly attached thereto dividing the interior of the frame into multiple spaces, said skeleton structure being capable of being bent into desired contour but possessing sufficient rigidity to retain such contoured form under usage pressure, and two bodies of metallic wool padding material applied to opposite sides of the contoured grid like skeleton structure and intermatted and intertangled with each other through the interstices thereof into a single integral metallic wool body within which the grid like frame is securely embedded to prevent shifting movement of portions of the metallic wool body.

2. In a pressing pad or the like, a form retaining' supporting structure including an endless marginal frame and transverse spaced parallel bars having. their. ends fixedly connected to the marginal frame and dividing the interior there- 40 of into multiple spaces, the supporting structure thus formed being bent into substantially arch shaped formation, and portions of fibrous material uniformly distributed over. opposite sides of the supporting structure and intertangled and matted with each other through the spaces of the supporting structure and forming a unitary integral fibrous padding body within which the supporting structure is embedded.

3. In a pressing pad or the like, a contoured 60 grid like form retaining skeleton frame and a body of metallic wool padding disposed on opposite sides thereof and extending through the interstices thereof from one side to the other whereby the padding material will be securely anchored relative to the supporting frame.

4. In a pressing pad or the like a form retaining unitary supporting structure bent out of a flat plane into a contoured shape approximating the desired shape of the completed pad and a body of metallic wool padding in which the contoured supporting structure is securely embedded and completely enclosing the same.

5.'In a pressing pad or the like a reticulated unitary supporting structure and a body of fibrous'padding material including continuous portions substantially uniformly disposed on each side thereof and having component portions of the fibrous padding material extending through the interstices of the supporting structure and uniting the continuous portions of material on opposite sides thereof into a single homogeneous body. I

6. In a pressing pad or the like a reticulated unitary supporting structure preshaped into a 76 contoured form and portions of fibrous padding material uniformly distributed over the opposite sides of the supporting structure and having component portions thereof extending through the interstices of the support into matted and intertangled association with portions of the padding material at opposite sides to bind the fibrous padding material intoa single unitary body.

7. In a pressing pad, a preshaped reticulated form retaining supporting structure and a continuous covering of fibrous material uniformly distributed under equalized tension on opposite sides of the supporting structure and homogeneously united by being inter-matted and intertangled through the interstices of the supporting structure.

8. As an article of manufacture, a pressing pad comprising a body of metallic wool shaped into a substantially concavo-convex formation, and a preformed concavo-convex reinforcement device embedded in the substantially concavoconvex metallic wool body for retaining the contoured form thereof.

9. An an article of manufacture, a pressing pad comprising a freely expansible and contractible body of metallic wool material of approximately uniform thickness throughout, bent into a curvilinear shape approximating the shape of the article to be pressed, and a reinforcement device embedded in the metallic wool body for retaining the bent shape thereof.

10. As an article of manufacture, a pressing pad comprising a body of metallic wool formed into a cushion presenting substantially uniform uninterrupted opposite surfaces, and a unitary skeleton frame of interconnected spaced members enclosed within the metallic wool cushion and rendering said cushion resistant against change of shape.

CHARLES E. GALVIN. 

